“Evolution was discovered, it’s not something people made up,” Nye said on MSNBC Saturday. “It was discovered and the evidence for it is astonishing, it’s overwhelming.”

He said the technology behind smoke detectors helps explain that the Earth is more like 4.5 billion years old, as opposed to 6,000 to 10,000 years old, as some believe.

“That’s science, those are facts,” he said. “You can’t just close your eyes and make them not true.”

Nye also dismissed a past comment from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) who said there was disagreement about evolution within the science community, saying “there’s no controversy among scientists.”

“This is always a troubling thing,” Nye said. “Our ancestors have made these discoveries, this is the best idea humans have ever had…this way that we understand the world around us and our place in it. And to set aside those discoveries arbitrarily betrays the best in us, it betrays the best use of our brains.”

Nye recently created a pro-evolution video titled, “Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children.” In it, he asked parents to teach their children about evolution even if not believing it themselves.